Review Summary: Fit For An Autopsy bring something great to a somewhat stale sound.
Fit For An Autopsy is a band that has been on my radar for quite a while, but I've never really taken the time to listen to them before now. And I can honestly say that I'm pretty glad that I did. After listening to this album I took the time to check out their two previous LPs, Hellbound, and The Process of Human Extermination (a tad cliche, i know). What I gained from that quite enjoyable listening experience is that they had a lot of room to improve, and they've done it for sure on this album.
Between the release of their last record and this one, they switched vocalists, and you can truly tell between the two. I wouldn't say that their current vocalist pales in comparison to their previous one, but there's definitely something missing there. The vocalists had similar qualities and styles, so there isn't too drastic of a change. Despite the change, the vocals are still strong throughout. One of the most impressive aspects of this album is the drumwork, which remains consistent and entertaining from start to finish. It's nothing too special or intricate or crazy at all, it's just steady deathcore drumming that pulls everything together and keeps things going in an amazing way. The guitars are another thing that are really unique and well done on this record. The solos peppered in on various songs are interesting and different and just the basic riffs are very well done and not too formulaic. Fit For An Autopsy aren't blowing down any doors or breaking any barriers with this album, just working off of what has been done in deathcore for years. But, that is definitely not a bad thing. Albeit sort of generic, this album is still worthwhile and done well enough to set it ahead of the other deathcore releases we have seen this year. As simple as it may sound, they take everything that you'd expect from an album like this, and just do it well.
The one complaint that can be made about this album as a whole is the fairly empty production. The drums don't have much of a kick and sort of fall flat, and the vocals blend in with the guitars far too often, creating little separation between the instruments and vocals. The production on the guitars is great, however. They are very clean cut but have enough grit to them to fit in with the band's slow, doom filled sound. Overall, there is no real kick to this album at all, something that you'd normally expect in any sort of heavy album. While this doesn't detract too much from the record itself, as it is still an excellent album, it leaves me wondering what could have been changed and how much better it could have sounded if the production was just a bit different.
If you're a fan of deathcore or metalcore, definitely pick up this record. Storm Drains, Ghosts in the River, and Swing The Axe are my personal favorite tracks on the album. Storm Drains and Ghosts in the River are good examples of what the album as a whole sounds like, while Swing The Axe is a slow, melodic song with beautiful guitarwork that fits together well in the atmosphere of the song itself. Fit For An Autopsy built on what has been done with a wonderful addition to the deathcore releases this year, and I can definitely see this album propelling them further ahead in their careers.
